Superintendent: 3 Students Hurt in Knife Incident at Pleasantview

SAUK RAPIDS -- Three students were hurt in an incident involving a knife Monday morning at Pleasantview Elementary in Sauk Rapids.

Superintendent Bruce Watkins wouldn't say how old the child was that brought the knife, only that he is a student at Pleasantview. He says the kid brought the knife with him to the school and became aggressive with it and struck three other students.

One of the injured kids is a 7th grader who was waiting to catch a transfer bus, the other two are students at Pleasantview.

The incident happened prior to the start of classes for the day.

An ambulance was called but was not needed. The kids that were hurt suffered blows to their heads, but no facial injuries. Watkins says he believes the injuries aren't life-threatening, and the students were taken to the hospital by their parents.

The child who brought the knife, and his parents, were brought to the Sauk Rapids police department.

Watkins says a message was sent to parents to let them know about the incident.

Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise says it was an eight-year-old boy who had brought a kitchen knife to school. He was interviewed and released to his parents. The chief says he doesn't know if the boy had been bullied or had mental health issues. He says the boy cooperated with investigators.

The report is being forwarded to the Benton County Attorney's Office. Beise says authorities don't file charges against children that young, they instead try to get them help.

Beise says that when officers arrived, the boy was in a counselor's office while the three children, who were not seriously hurt, were being treated by the school nurse.